In general, the present invention relates to magnetic and non-magnetic storage media drive canisters mounted for use within a computing device, and more particularly, to a new vibration dampening mechanism for operative arrangement with a data storage media drive canister that can be installed in a canister support structure located within a computing device, having a cantilevered dampening spring secured to an upper or lower surface of, or integral with, a side of a housing for the drive canister.
So-called "floppy" disk drives (that read 5.5-inch diameter media), the more-commonly used "rigid" disk drives (that read 3.5-inch diameter disks), As well as drives that read other types of magnetic and non-magnetic storage media such as magnetic tapes, laser created and read CD-ROMs (Compact-Disk Read-Only Memory media), and the newer ZIP.TM. disk storage (distributed by Iomega Corporation), are typically either mechanically built into computing devices (as is the case for most drives built into desktop and laptop personal computers) or can be housed by portable removable canister units that are, then, inserted into computing devices. These removable canister units can be inserted directly into support shelving built into a computing system or subsystem; or if a computing device needs a great deal of extra portable storage, several disk drive canisters can be, first, mounted into a canister mounting module having several bays (also referred to as drive cages) each of which can accept a drive canister. FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,886 issued to Golobay illustrates one type of canister mounting module having six canister bays/cages. The assignee hereof has designed and currently distributes another type of canister mounting module (at 10 of FIG. 1A) having canister bays (such as those at 14, 16, 18, 20) located side-by-side and in stacked relationship with one another. Each of these canister bays houses one disk drive canister.
Due to requisite precision during disk read and/or write operations, data storage media drives are susceptible to problems arising from vibration during operation and perturbation due to shock during shipping, installation, and operation. It is well understood that even minuscule displacement of storage media due to mechanical vibration or shock during read or write operations can cause error. The trend in data storage media drive technology is to increase data storage capacity of standard sized media currently in use, and to maintain or increase read/write speed. Thus, even the slightest amount of vibration can cause performance degradation, disk read/write errors, or other unwanted consequences.
One known disk drive canister developed and currently being built and distributed by the assignee hereof for use with its canister mounting module (mentioned above), has an electrical connector mounted on its back end so that upon insertion directly into a computing system, subsystem, or a canister mounting module, the disk drive contained in the canister can be electrically interconnected to the computing device to provide data storage. The assignee's disk drive canister design (FIG. 1B) has a forward end to which a latch-door is attached by means of a pivot. After sliding this canister into its respective bay/cage, its latch-door is closed against the canister to hold the canister in place.
Although it may not be very difficult to build a molded plastic or cast metal alloy disk drive canister housing to precise dimensions, as is the case with the canister housing designed by the assignee hereof and made of reinforced molded plastic, it is much more difficult and costly to build canister shelving and bays/cages with such precision. Since tight tolerances are hard to achieve when building canister shelving and bays/cages, a space is created between the canister housing and its mounting shelving or bay/cage. Although this extra space makes it easier to slide a canister into place within its shelving or bay/cage, there is at least one main drawback: the mechanical vibration or shock due to internal disk drive components in operation or some other perturbance, is magnified as the canister "rattles" between its upper and lower mounting shelving or within its bay/cage. Although connecting the electrical connector of a known canister to its bay/cage provides a small amount of lateral support to the back end of the canister, this incidental support given is simply not enough to minimize or prevent disk read and write operation errors due to vibration or shock. Furthermore, a mounting module housing several such drive canisters, each independently vibrating while in operation, experiences a multiplied vibrational effect. This multiplied vibrational effect, in turn, increases the likelihood of media drive read/write error.
While others have proposed various solutions to address various respective magnetic storage disk vibration and shock issues that they have specifically identified, none of these proposed prior solutions offer a simple, yet effective, means of decreasing or minimizing drive displacement due to vibration or shock during disk drive operation that can accommodate known canister housing and associated bay/cage designs. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,164 issued to Leo et al. that discloses a shock and vibration isolation system wherein a device having a top, bottom, sides, front and back is mounted on moving isolators in spaced relationship to a member for releasably holding the device in place against vertical, lateral and longitudinal movement during shipping. The hard disk drive disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,210 issued to Mintzlaff is resiliently suspended within a disk pack unit housing on a vibration isolating suspension system which utilizes a plurality of spring steel coils to isolate the hard disk from external vibrations and shock. The 3.5-inch disk drive mounting system in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,049 issued to Nguyen, which was apparently designed to address disk errors due to shock and vibration displacement, includes a main disk support bracket, first and second disk retainers, and a center disk support bracket. The mounting system in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,777 issued to Lewis "provides a shock isolation mounting device for slide mounting a disk drive mechanism in the card guide support of a computer chassis, . . . [which comprises] a clamp assembly for clamping the disk drive mechanism in a first inoperative position, and a cam assembly which is displaceable with respect to the clamp assembly for moving the clamp assembly to a second operative position." The information recording carrier-holding frame disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,826 issued to Ozeki was designed to "stably (sic) house and hold a small size of a thin information recording carrier such as a floppy disk, a slide film and so on . . . ;" the Ozeki information recording carrier is positioned on a support in a rectangular depression and held between planar lugs and supports. As one can see, these prior proposed solutions are not feasible where space is limited and where one desires not to incur the costs of redesigning current canister housing and associated bay/cage designs.
In proposing solutions to other disk drive problems, several inventors have designed various devices that do not address the problem of canister housing and disk displacement due to vibration or shock during drive operation. Several such devices .have been patented: A bracket for securing a computer drive within a housing (U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,804); a sled having an adapter assembly coupled thereto to provide an electrical and mechanical interface between an SCSI compatible disk drive connector and the SCA compatible midplane connector (U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,204); a disk card cage/disk carrier mechanical interlock subassembly having two pairs of cooperative pins (U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,717); shelving housing and associated carrier (U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,396); a pawl latching and retaining device for retaining and releasing a removable disk drive (U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,698); and a shelf assembly in an electronic switching system to enhance "storability of a cable" and "coolability of the assembly" (U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,315).
In most compact computerized devices designed to house a disk drive canister unit, there is little additional space available to accommodate a redesigned, more-complex canister housing. Without reasonable solutions at hand for adequately supporting storage media drives subject to vibration and shock within a complex electronic instrument, software and computer hardware designers can be severely limited in their development efforts. Therefore, a simple, yet effective, and readily manufacturable solution was needed that could decrease, minimize or prevent disk read/write operation errors caused by vibration and shock. One can see that the novel dampening mechanism of the invention described herein, provides support and stability to known storage media drives without requiring substantial redesign of storage media drive canister units currently in use.
The new vibration dampening mechanism described herein, is designed for operation with a wide range of portable/removable data storage media drive canister units that house or contain a storage media drive subject to vibration or shock during operation. This simple innovative mechanism can be installed as an add-on component to existing canister units or can be fabricated as an integral part of any side (top, bottom, left, or right) of a canister housing. The innovative mechanism of the invention operatively arranged with a drive canister, can be used in existing shelving or canister bays/cages. Since no increase or modification in size or shape of shelving or canister bays/cages is needed, no redesign is necessary of the computing devices into which a canister (that incorporates the instant invention) is inserted. Furthermore, a canister unit incorporating the novel vibration dampening mechanism of the invention, can be inserted and removed with relative ease (and without special tools) by either a computer operator or technician.
Unlike the bracket with flat engaging tabs 304, 402, 406 which fit within respective openings to prevent the bracket from moving in a first degree of freedom relative to the computer housing (described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,804), and unlike the led having a pair of sled arms with apertures therein through which steel clips have been disposed so that these clips can be accepted by corresponding holes in a carrier board (described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,204), the new vibration dampening mechanism was designed to be secured to a surface of, or integral with, a side of a canister housing to utilize the extra space between a canister housing and its mounting shelving or bay/cage while at the same time minimize modifications to existing canister designs. As will be appreciated, in the spirit of this design goal, the new dampening mechanism and system described herein has a spring that can be located at a top, bottom, left, or right side wall of a canister housing.